EU splashes cash on lavish bridges but not on fixing Britain's potholes

MORE taxpayers' cash has been lavished on four EU bridge-building projects than will be spent on mending potholes on Britain's entire road network over the next five years, figures revealed last night.

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Britain's annual contribution of £350million a week was 382 times bigger than the £50million-a-year Porthole Action Fund set up by Chancellor George Osborne, the research showed.

And much of the UK's payments to Brussels were spent on major infrastructure projects including transport networks.

The leaflet says: "Much of the UK's contributions to the EU are spent on EU structural funds. "

In 2015, the EU spent £48.7 billion (60.4 billion euros) on 'economic, social and territorial cohesion'.

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£68million was spent on the Harilaos Trikoupis bridge

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George Osborne set up the Porthole Action fund

"Despite being one of the largest contributors to the EU budget, many other wealthy EU member states receive more in structural funds than the UK - including Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France.

"As a percentage of gross national income, only Denmark and the Netherlands received less than the UK."

Research by Vote Leave showed that a total of £264million was spent by Brussels on four vast road bridges in EU countries.

EU spending included £68million on the Harilaos Trikoupis bridge across the Gulf of Corinth in Greece, £52million the Vidin-Calafat bridge linking Romania and Bulgaria over the Danube, and a total of £126million on the Torun and Kamien bridges over waterways in Poland.

Robert Oxley, a spokesman for Vote Leave, said: "The UK sends £350million a week to Brussels, money we could better spend on our priorities like fixing our roads.

"Taxpayers' money should go on filling in potholes in Britain, rather than being squandered on foreign bridges to nowhere."

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Research by Vote Leave showed that a total of £264million was spent by Brussels on four road bridges